Petitioners Pester Burien Residents to "Raise the Wage" - AGAIN

Why are outside groups gathering signatures to force Burien To Raise its Minimum Wage even higher?

by Escribe de VeritasBurien Resident.According to Washington State Public Disclosure (PDC.wa.gov), 99.9125% of "Raise The Wage Burien" campaign donations have come from Non-Burien donors. This group is trying to force Burien to change the Minimum Wage Ordinance 837 passed on March 18, 2024. So far, only one Burien resident has donated $200 to this "outside-of-Burien" campaign.Burien residents, businesses, City Staff, and the Burien Economic Development Association(BEDP) spent a year hammering out the details. They intended to respect the needs of all that appeared before the Council.Non-Burien outsiders are once again "sticking their noses" into Burien's businesses:

• Transit Riders’ Union of Seattle
• SEIU, and other unions not headquartered in Burien
• Seattle Democratic Socialists of America (Kashama Sawant’s and Phil Locker’s party/committee)
• Democratic Socialists of America - National
• Members of Raise the Wage Renton Committee
• Owner of “The Urbanist” publication, who lives in her $8M+ house in Bellevue.

According to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), they have raised $26,399.37, of which all but $200 have come from organizations/ individuals who do not reside in Burien. This action committee has already spent $25,260.36 to pay Non-Burien people and groups to push this campaign on Burien residents. For months, Raise The Wage Burien has been hassling Burien residents in shopping centers and parking lots to get them to sign their petition sheets. Ironically, this initiative will NOT improve the lives of the lowest-paid workers in Burien (less than 25% of Burien residents work in Burien). In fact, according to independent researchers, low-income workers are the most likely to feel the pinch as hours are cut, salaries reduced, and jobs lost.After Seattle raised its minimum wage, the results were counterintuitive: the lowest-paid workers who kept their jobs lost $1,500 per year. Many lost their jobs due to business closures.Union workers who negotiate their salaries per the contract process are exempt from this measure. So why are they pushing this? To show Burien that they can control the future of this city? A show of force?Additionally, if this initiative gets on the ballot and passes, it will hurt and destroy many of the remaining businesses in Burien.This same scam was run by outsiders pushing for the wage increase in Renton where they raised and spent over $109,000 since January 2023. Check the PDC Committee records. The major contributors to that campaign were the Seattle Democratic Socialists, the Democratic Socialists of America-National, and the President of the Renton Teachers’ Association.Burien neighbors - Don’t sign the petitions when approached!This is NOT about:

• improving the lives of low-income workers
• improving the lives of Burien residents, or
• saving the businesses

This campaign is being run by the same outside “control activists" who want to tell Burien what to do while trying to bankrupt the city, small business owners, and ultimately force more taxes on Burien residents. Raise the Wage in Burien wants to get rid of the new Ordinance 837.This is bad for Burien... Just say NO!